Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation
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PREVENTING ELDER FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION EMPLOYEE TRAINING MANUAL FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AN INITIATIVE OF: Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation Executive Office of Elder Affairs Division of Banks 2017 IN COLLABORATION WITH: Office of the Attorney General Massachusetts Bankers Association Cooperative Credit Union Association The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Charles D. Baker, Governor Karyn E. Polito, Lieutenant Governor CONTENTS SECTION I: OVERVIEW 3 o History of Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation Program 3 o Defining Elder Financial Exploitation 3 o Protecting Elders from Financial Exploitation 4 o Benefits to Financial Institutions 5 o Reporting and Investigation Protocol 6 o Commitment to Prevention through Education 6 o How the Project Works 7 SECTION II: HOW TO RECOGNIZE FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION 8 o Defining Financial Exploitation 8 o Types of Financial Exploitation 10 o Wrongdoer Is Known 11 o Wrongdoer Is Unknown 14 o Warning Signs 19 SECTION III: HOW TO RESPOND TO FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION 22 o Importance of the Perpetrator-Victim Relationship 23 o Internal Response – Eight Action Steps 23 o Talking with Older Customers 26 SECTION IV: HOW TO REPORT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION 28 o Process for Reporting 28 o Legality of Reporting 36 o Investigation by Protective Services Agency 38 o Reporting Scam Artist Exploitation 40 SECTION V: HOW TO PREVENT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION 42 o Financial Institution Participation in Preventing Exploitation 43 o Training as Part of Prevention 47 o Preventative Measures for All Older Persons 48 o Sample Materials 49 SECTION VI: ELDER PROTECTIVE SERVICES 54 o The Prevalence of Elder Abuse 54 o The Massachusetts Elder Protective Services Network 62 o Protective Services 65 o Elder Abuse Hotline 65 o Guardianship Program 66 o The Money Management Program 66 CONTENTS CONTINUED SECTION VII: AGING SERVICES NETWORK 68 o Assistance for Older Adults 68 o Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs 68 o Home Care Programs 69 o Elderly Nutrition Program 69 o Information Services 69 o The SHINE Program 70 o Prescription Advantage 70 o Councils on Aging 70 o Housing and Assisted Living Programs 70 o Family Caregiver Support Program 71 o Senior Community Service Employment 71 o Long Term Care/Assisted Living Ombudsman 71 o Office of Long-term Services and Supports Programs 72 o Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General 75 o Massachusetts District Attorneys 75 o Massachusetts Department of Public Health 75 SECTION VIII: FINANCIAL ABUSE SPECIALIST TEAMS (FASTs) 76 o Introduction to FASTs 76 o FAST Team Structure and Management 77 o Membership of FASTs 79 o Training for FAST Members 79 o Time Commitment 80 o Referral Criteria 80 o FAST Meetings 81 o Outcome Measures 81 APPENDICES 82 Appendix A: Protective Services Agencies, Non-PS Aging Services Access 82 Points and Money Management Programs Appendix B: Cross Listing of Protective Services Agencies by Town 87 Appendix C: Other Investigatory/Oversight Agencies 91 Appendix D: Link to M.G.L. Chapter 19A, Sections 14 – 26 94 Appendix E: ‘Consent to Release Information’ Form 95 Appendix F: ‘Fraud Alert Form 96 Appendix G: ‘Incident/Suspected Abuse Report’ Form 98 Appendix H: Sample Internal Reporting Policy 99 Appendix I: Reverse Mortgage Danger Signals 100 Appendix J: ‘Don’t be a Victim – Protect Your Savings’ Brochures 101 Appendix K: ‘Financial Exploitation of Seniors is More Common than you 101 Think’ Brochure Appendix L: ‘Warning Signs of Elder Financial Exploitation’ Placard 101 SECTION I: OVERVIEW Mr. J. was a regular customer at his financial institution. He went in once a week to cash a check for a small amount. In one week, a teller noticed he came in three different times. A woman the teller had not seen before accompanied him. On each occasion, Mr. J. cashed increasingly large checks. The final check cleaned out his account. The following week, the teller called Elder Protective Services in great distress, asking if Mr. J. could be helped. He had come into the financial institution to cash his usual small check, and she had to tell him that his account was empty. Mr. J. did not seem to remember the transactions he had made the previous week. When he discovered that he had no money left in his account, he stood in the lobby and cried. The teller said that she had felt that there was something wrong, but had not known what to do. Had she been aware of the warning signs of financial exploitation, the appropriate employee response to these situations and the protocol for reporting suspicions, this situation might have been prevented. History of Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation Program Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation was first implemented in February 1996 under the name The Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project. The Bank Reporting Project was a public/private collaboration between the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, the Division of Banks, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, and private banks. In March 2009, the Project was expanded to include a partnership with the Cooperative Credit Union Association. Through voluntary participation in this training program, financial institutions and their employees have been and will continue to be integral in the successful detection and prevention of elder financial exploitation. This program has been relaunched in 2017 under the new name Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation. Defining Elder Financial Exploitation Individuals over the age of sixty (60) comprise the most rapidly growing segment of our population. Elders often have substantial savings after a lifetime of earning, making them targets for abuse. Some elders are more vulnerable because of physical disabilities and cognitive decline. Financial Exploitation is devastating to elders and their families and loved ones, as elders are often on a fixed income and cannot recover from the effects of this abuse. Elder financial exploitation is the illegal or improper use of an elder’s resources by a family member, friend, neighbor, acquaintance or stranger. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs has found that financial exploitation by people known to elders, often relatives or friends, is the primary type of abuse in roughly 20% of elder abuse cases. Additionally, many more elder abuse cases have a component of financial exploitation. The Office of the Attorney General also receives a significant and increasing number of complaints and hotline calls concerning elder financial exploitation involving scams 3 and fraud by unscrupulous businesses, relatives and individuals. Unfortunately, many cases go unreported, or are not discovered until the elder has been stripped of all assets and the financial damage is irreversible. Protecting Elders from Financial Exploitation The number of financial exploitation reports received by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs Protective Services Program (Protective Services) from banks has increased dramatically since the Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project was implemented. Not only are employees better able to recognize exploitation and other types of abuse, they are now consulting more with Protective Services and reporting situations without fear of compromising customer confidentiality. Reporting suspicious situations, though, is only one of the critical components in battling elder financial exploitation. Effectively intervening to protect the funds of vulnerable elders also requires cooperation and communication among the older consumer, financial institution personnel, law enforcement and Protective Services. Cooperation and communication are more easily navigated because of participation and banks and credit unions will begin to note: ‘We can now do something about the situations that used to keep us awake at night.’ The Secret of Success The secret of success when helping to prevent elder financial abuse is 1) a collaborative public/private nature; 2) an emphasis on a coordinated and comprehensive response; and, 3) simplicity and efficiency. This training manual is designed to minimize the time financial institution personnel spend on these cases while still ensuring that critical information reaches Protective Services or law enforcement in a timely manner. In addition, the protocol provides legal protection for financial institutions and consumers by advancing a basic level of financial protection for consumers while accommodating concerns about releasing confidential information. Currently, over 100 banks in Massachusetts participate voluntarily. After receiving materials and training from the Project partners, financial institutions are responsible for training their employees on identifying possible financial identifying possible financial exploitation and other types of abuse. In addition, financial institutions provide training on following the simple protocol for reporting suspicious circumstances to Elder Protective Services and/or law enforcement. They also are strongly encouraged to initiate a variety of preventative measures, including distributing consumer brochures, hosting consumer education seminars, and offering accounts or services designed to maximize convenience for older consumers and protect their funds. Project Training Since the inception of this endeavor in 1996, several thousand bank and credit union personnel have received training directly from Project trainers through sessions scheduled for management and security personnel, and follow-up training